How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your home in Miami needs to be refreshed, a fresh coat of paint is a fast, inexpensive option to improve its curb appeal. So if your house is starting to look worn down or if you are just ready for something different, consider painting the exterior of your house yourself or pay a professional painter to do it for you.

Painting a home is a big job, but it isn’t an unreasonable job for some homeowners. You need to do your research to know how to prepare the surface by scheduling residential pressure washing, as well as what brushes and paints you need to use.

You can also meet in the middle with a professional painter by completing all the prep work yourself, but then having their crew come to your home and do the actual painting with their best tools, safety equipment and professionally selected paint.

Whichever direction is right for you, you will still need to know exactly how to prepare your home for painting. Here are the most important things to consider.

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Choose which parts of the home to paint, collect the ladders and other necessary safety equipment. If you’re preparing to complete the painting by yourself, you’ll thank yourself later. Having a clear plan will help to make the actual painting project go a lot faster as soon as you begin. Organizing your equipment ahead of time ensures that when you start painting, you shouldn’t have to stop and search for all of the supplies, meaning you’ll have to maintain a wet brush edge the entire time you are painting.
2. Choose the right paint and brushes. The most fun part of painting your home is deciding the color or color combination. You’ll also need to pick the right paint finishes for all parts of the house. Latex is a lot better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It’s a lot less messy and easier to clean. The flat surfaces require more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss for the trim. You’ll need to us synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are also efficient options if possible.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to start prepping the surface of your house for its beautiful new paint! Invest time into pressure washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to loosen any cracked or peeling paint. The extreme pressure water is the recommended way to remove old paint, and it simultaneously cleans the exterior of your house. Some of the sections of paint should peel off as you spray them. That’s a sure sign that the paint was deteriorating and needed to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the original paint has been loosened, scrape it off the house with a metal or plastic straight edge, being diligent not to dig into the wood. Then sand surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t important to sand each surface down to the bare wood. Any sections where the paint is still adhered need to be cleaned and have the edges sanded so the new paint goes on the home smooth.
5. Prime. Do not skip priming! Primer is a very important step because it conceals any previous paint (especially important with dark paint colors), results in even color for your new paint, and a smoother surface with less imperfections. Let the primer dry based on the directions so that the original layer of paint doesn’t mix with it or result in a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint in good weather. A professional painter is able to look at the forecast and determine the most opportune day for painting a house. That’s why they’re professionals! If you want to do the painting on your own, wait for a day that is somewhere between 75 and 85 degrees, and with very little humidity. This will result in the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

Not only will a brand new paint job make your home look several years newer, it also adds a layer of protection to the overall exterior of your house.

Paint will help prevent insects from eating or boring into your home’s exterior. It also prevents wear and tear from inclement weather. Good quality paint prevents wood from rotting and dirt won’t adhere to paint the same way it does to wood.

Peeling paint is an obvious clue that it is time to be replaced. If paint is peeling, you need to have it repainted to protect the wood beneath.

Aging paint takes a toll on your home’s appearance. If you’re concerned about curb appeal, painting your house is one of the simplest things you can do.

Painting is also a good idea if your house doesn’t to “fit in” in the neighborhood. If your home’s color makes it stand out too much, or if it is the opposite and you want it to stand out, a different paint color can totally update its vibe.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Miami

After the prepping is over, you have the option to hand the work off to a professional painter in Miami (if you hadn’t already decided that from the beginning!). Hiring a painter is affordable. It also ensures that the results will exceed expectations with little effort from you.

Hiring a local painter to paint your home has several obvious benefits:

• A professional painter will know the most efficient way to complete the job, meaning the paint will look a lot better and the project will be a lot faster.
• Companies don’t make a big mess. Their results will be neater, without extra paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Because of their skill and knowledge, your new paint will probably last a lot longer than if you did the job by yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment required to paint areas higher than ground level.

Based on your DIY capabilities and interests, you can trust your painter to complete all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most pros are fully prepared to handle each part of the job, from removing old paint and pressure washing the exterior to actually applying the new paint.